» Winds of Winter Release: TBA

Quick Spoiler Guide

Every post at r/gameofthrones must use a single, [hard bracketed] spoiler tag at the start of the post. This is used to define what the post is about, and to what level of discussion is allowable in the comments.

Every subreddit has a content scope. This sub is for discussing the Game of Thrones show, the book series A Song of Ice and Fire, and general fandom topics related to the two, like checking in on what GRRM is doing. This sub has just five simple rules:

1. Content Must be Relevant to the World of ASOIAF, GOT or GRRM

For the most part that means posts about the overall story, the production of the show, and the writing of the books. Posts about the lore and other novella books are welcome. Original creations that celebrate the fandom, like art, cosplay, crafts, food, etc. are all welcome. Posts about the actors are fine if there is a direct connection to the show, like a post about the actors at the GOT panel from a con.

Don't post content that is about you, like if you pick up a bag of Tyrrell's veggie chips, and they reminded you of the show, post that to /r/EarthOfIceAndFire. Random things with similar names, people that just happen to look like an actor, etc. are not relevant to this subreddit's scope. Pics of actors in other non-GOT jobs, or just out walking their dog are also not allowed. Post those to whatever actor sub applies. And if some reference is so vague you have to explain it for people to understand, odds are it's not appropriate.

Meta discussions and "posts about other posts" are not allowed. People use them too often to circlejerk about things that have little or nothing to do with the books or show. Any questions or suggestions for the subreddit should be communicated directly to the moderation team.

Please note: GRRM has clearly stated he does not like fanfic written in his worlds. In respect for his wishes, fanfic is not allowed here. Story predictions/theories are fine, but actual fiction is not.

There are some people who don't care about spoiler safety, and some who think anyone not caught up on the show should not be here. That is not how this sub works. Spoilers are moderated, and users who are careless with spoilers get banned. Don't make hints or jokes with spoilers in [NO SPOILERS] threads. Usernames that include a spoiler are also banned; it doesn't matter how cool they are or how funny the joke is.

3. Content Must be High Quality and Provide Unique Value to the Community

Post stuff that's cool, interesting, and different. Content should promote discussions about the books or show. Anything that clearly took time and work to make has more value than low-effort jokes. Content that is unique and personal has more value than a quick edit/mashup that anyone can do. References that have become generic memes out in the real world, like "Winter is coming" and "the night is dark and full of terrors," are not allowed unless there is something unique or special about a reference. Subreddit marketing/spam is not allowed.

Photos of unique handmade crafts/merchandise are welcome, but if you just bought some cool new shirt/shot glass/sword/book/etc., post a link to where you bought it, so other redditors can get one too. That's more relevant and useful than just posting a selfie of you wearing the shirt or a pic of the book you're about to read. Commercial posts for merch you have made are fine as long as you don't spam and there is no copyright violation.

No memes, rage comics, phone texting, Facebook screencaps, Tumblr quotes, or generic audio overlays on show clips. Anything similar or on the same effort-level is not ok here, and most of the time /r/ASongOfMemesAndRage is better for stuff like that. That includes posting pictures from the show that have been put through an app. It rarely adds high value discussion and it just floods the subreddit once it happens.

No shitposts. Intentional low-quality shitposting/circlejerking leads to a ban. This includes short self-posts that don't prompt discussion and only serve to stroke the ego of the submitter. Any post that must say, "it's not a shitpost" is no true quality post.

Reposts are ok if the content is "fresh." If someone just posted an album of new set pics from the show, and you have an album with the same pics, don't post yours. It doesn't matter if the URL is different. The community does not need website articles with the same information as a link already posted. Non-fresh content gets downvoted fast, and expect removal of anything not following the repost delay limit below:

April-May* = wait 1 week to post again

After May = wait 2 weeks to post again

If similar content is posted too often, it may be removed outside of this time frame to make room for more fresh content in an effort to keep with the spirit of the rule encouraging "fresh" content.

* updated for S8's schedule

4. All Posts Must be Respectful and Mature

The books and show contain large amounts of mature content. People are expected to be able to talk about the violence, nudity, and sex without resorting to 13-year-old giggling and jokes. Yes, there are sex scenes in the show, but if you post about masturbating to them you will be banned. Keep your comments relevant to story discussion, and keep your fantasies to yourself. To be clear, do not sexually objectify the actors, characters, or other redditors, no matter their age or gender. It doesn't matter what your age is or if you just happen to be the same age as one of the actors. It should be obvious that topics about young actors and "age of consent laws" in various countries are not appropriate. It should be obvious that anything related to real porn is not appropriate. Yes, the story contains mature scenes, and you need to at least be able to act mature in order to talk about them here.

This is a no-drama subreddit, and all content should be civil. Debates and disagreements about the story or other relevant sub topics are fine, but off-topic flamewars are not. Petty arguments like the Daenerys vs. Khaleesi name debate are wastes of time. Take your pet peeves somewhere else. It should be obvious that needlessly offensive/insulting comments, personal attacks, or trying to pick a fight with anyone is not ok. All racism, slurs, bigotry, etc. leads to bans. There are plenty of other subs created for petty drama; don't do it here. Real-world politics has been removed completely from the scope.

5. No Active Piracy Or Copyright Violations

We do not care if you pirate the show or books. We just don't want the piracy done here, in this subreddit. This is the largest fan community in the world for the show and books, and the redditors here benefit from maintaining a good relationship with HBO and Bantam/Voyager. HBO has done promotional events with this sub, there have been merch giveaways, and we're actively working to get more AMAs with the cast and crew. It's in your best interest to keep content legal (plus it's part of Reddit's Rules). That means don't post links to pirated content and don't ask for links to pirated content, including bonus video content only available on the DVDs, resorted book chapter collections, and high-resolution scans of the published maps. Please be respectful to the creators of the content we love and your fellow redditors here by keeping your posts legal.

Leaked content is not allowed here. Specifically that means episodes of the show released early or actors/crew revealing insider story details before airing. Normal, public photos of the show's set in production are fine, but taking non-public pics of the set by sneaking past security is not ok. Do not post or comment about links to leaks or instructions for how to get leaked media. Do not make a post to discuss leaked content or link to outside discussions. There will be no "official" discussion threads for early episode leaks. Leaks cause people to get spoiled when they don't want the leaked information at all. They seep into other topics and prediction threads, and the more widely known they are the more careless people become with the information.

Please keep in mind when a leak happens off-Reddit, outside trolls who come to this community with spoilers to cause damage still have to learn how Reddit works, so they aren't as successful as trolls who are already here. Bringing the leaks to this community with links and obvious discussion posts makes it easy for Reddit trolls to find spoilers to use on everyone else. Most trolls won't take the time to go find spoilers outside of Reddit, so the amount of spoiler trolling is very small when we don't allow links or formal discussions.

The Spoiler Guide

How spoiler warnings work here and when to use them is found in the Spoiler Guide. For quick-reference:

Titles can't contain spoilers, thumbnails can't contain spoilers, and the combination of the two can't equal a spoiler. Do not use NSFW to try to hide a thumbnail spoiler; it does not work.

The Ban Policy

Bans are one of the tools we use when an account fails to keep their posts inside the subreddit's content scope. It's not personal; it's about the content posted. More details on how bans are used here and how to get one lifted can be found in the subreddit's Ban Policy document.